Geopolitical Economy Report

Japan's currency the yen has fallen significantly against the dollar. It its economy in crisis? What is the role of US interest rates, inflation, debt, and deficits? What about China? Ben Norton explains the complex geoeconomic situation. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=sz3r36ZTe7Q Topics 0:00 Intro 1:40 Yen plunges against US dollar 3:32 Rising exports, falling imports 4:40 Did Germany overtake Japan? 5:58 Nominal GDP is misleading 7:27 PPP is much more accurate 9:25 Misunderstanding GDP figures 10:53 US deficits & debt drive GDP growth 12:37 Strong US dollar 13:58 Industrialization & manufacturing 15:31 Current account 16:15 US Treasury securities 18:09 Why is the yen falling? 18:43 Interest rates 20:37 Bond yields 23:28 Why doesn't Japan raise interest rates? 23:50 Japan's debt 26:18 Inflation 29:32 US Treasurys 30:29 De-dollarization: China drops US bonds 33:14 TL;DW (conclusion) 35:07 Outro

How much does the US benefit from printing the global reserve currency? An economist calculated that US average daily income would fall by 27-57% if the dollar lost its "exorbitant privilege". Ben Norton explains how wealthy investors not only in North America but around the world hold much of their wealth in the dollar. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=jYkiMcR1Rj8 Link to Philip Pilkington's report and Twitter account: https://twitter.com/philippilk/status/1782409654519128497 Topics 0:00 US dollar dominance 2:00 Economics of exorbitant privilege 5:23 Current account 9:29 Balance of payments 12:31 Effects of dollar hegemony 14:45 Neoliberalism & financialization 17:41 Foreign capital funds US deficits 19:28 Global 1% invests in US assets 20:35 Super Imperialism 22:25 Fed inflates asset bubbles 25:22 De-industrialization in West 28:06 Industrialization in BRICS 28:57 Investment & FDI 33:08 Wages & manufacturing 35:00 Re-industrialization? 38:16 Outro

US President Joe Biden signed a law that will force TikTok's Chinese owner ByteDance to sell the app, or it will be banned in the US. Ben Norton explains how this is part of Washington's economic war, aimed at protecting Big Tech monopolies in Silicon Valley. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=_WFYov2kfLI Topics 0:00 Biden signs law to ban TikTok 1:39 US tech war on China 5:00 India banned Chinese apps, giving US Big Tech total control 6:38 Protectionism or economic war? 8:30 Silicon Valley lobbied against TikTok 9:37 Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok... before doing 180 12:15 Role of Israel/Palestine/Gaza? 13:42 US trade war with Japan in 1980s 15:38 "Free market" hypocrisy 18:25 US does not truly want "competition" with China 19:39 Outro

If Ukraine loses in the NATO proxy war with Russia, "it will be the end of Western hegemony", lamented former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Ben Norton explains the geopolitics of the conflict, and how most of the Global South has not joined the Global North in opposing Moscow. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=M8ZmkIhs8r0 Check out our related report - "‘Western dominance has ended’, EU foreign-policy chief admits, warning of ‘West against the Rest’": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/02/26/western-dominance-ended-eu-josep-borrell

Jill Stein explains why she decided to run for US president on an anti-war, pro-worker platform, challenging the duopoly of the Democrats and Republicans as the candidate for the Green Party. She is interviewed by political economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=oDUb7-MPH48 Read the transcript here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/04/20/jill-stein-president-green-party-candidate/ You can watch other episodes of their program Geopolitical Economy Hour here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

The US vetoed a resolution in the UN Security Council that called to recognize Palestine as a member state, while Israel launched attacks on Iran. Ben Norton shows how Washington is opposing peace. VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VndvgbR51D4 Topics 0:00 Intro 1:29 Israel attacks Iran 4:39 US vetoes Palestinian UN membership 7:31 What is Palestine's status at UN? 8:57 Which countries recognize Palestine? 10:18 "Two-state solution" hypocrisy 12:01 How USA prevents peace in Palestine 15:35 US defended South African apartheid at UN 18:30 South Africa's anti-apartheid leaders support Palestine 21:02 China supports Palestine 22:56 Russia supports Palestine 23:47 UNSC Gaza resolutions vetoed by US 25:53 US sponsors Israel's crimes against humanity 27:23 Outro

A major Congress member and top former Trump administration official published an article calling to overthrow China's government. They boasted that the US is waging a new cold war and must win it, while proposing a military budget of $1.4 trillion per year. Ben Norton debunks the deceptions of the warmongers in Washington. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Q3RMl33SqNE Check out our related report: CIA director threatens China & Russia, says Ukraine war benefits US economy - https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/02/07/cia-director-china-threat-russia-ukraine-war/ Topics 0:00 Topic 1:07 2024 election 1:59 Council on Foreign Relations & CIA 3:30 Matt Pottinger & Mike Gallagher 5:07 US new cold war on China 8:21 Deceptively distorting Xi Jinping's speeches 12:50 Information warfare 16:00 Colonialism 17:32 Misquoting Chinese officials 20:29 Militarization of Asia 21:49 $1.37 trillion military budget 22:44 US domination of Asia 24:51 Recruit "cold warriors" 26:44 Regime change: Rollback, not just containment 28:05 Manufacturing consent for war 29:21 Outro

Israel attacked Iran's embassy in Syria on April 1, in a blatant act of war. Iran had a legal right to respond in self-defense, according to article 51 of the UN Charter, which is exactly what it did by launching missiles and drone strikes on April 13. But Western governments are absurdly portraying Tehran as the aggressor. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=1p1-Psc0Un8 Topics 0:00 Intro 1:11 Israel attacked Iran first 2:50 Biden & Sunak erase history 3:57 US, UK, France blocked UN Security Council condemnation 5:14 Iran invoked article 51 of UN charter 7:02 UN chief Antonio Guterres' hypocrisy 8:32 West is destroying international law 10:46 World War III? 12:25 Outro

Washington accuses China of producing too many goods and demands "free market" policies. But the US government is spending trillions on industrial policy to protect its own manufacturing sector. Ben Norton details the hypocrisy of the allegations, the latest strategy in the US economic war on China. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=GUpWxNcdnYU Topics 0:00 Intro 1:00 Chinese 'overcapacity' allegations 3:38 Janet Yellen 5:21 US vows to 'slow down China's rate of innovation' 8:02 Elon Musk begs for tariffs on Chinese EVs 10:40 US wants China to be economically subordinated 12:27 US tech war on China 14:39 Western industrial policy 16:31 Protectionism 18:38 US Inflation Reduction Act 20:12 US Chips Act 22:03 US undercapacity is the real problem 25:11 BYD has just 1.5% of EU EV market share 27:04 China's car exports vs Japan & South Korea 30:37 Is overcapacity a problem? 32:39 Outro

Political economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson analyze how the United States is waging an economic war against China. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4l3EbRUOGsI Transcript: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/04/09/us-waging-economic-war-china-radhika-desai-michael-hudson/ You can watch other episodes of their program Geopolitical Economy Hour here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

In the United Nations Human Rights Council, the West voted against the rest of the world, supporting illegal sanctions (known as unilateral coercive measures). Ben Norton analyzes how the 14% of the population in the Global North constantly opposes the Global South, representing the Global Majority. VIDEO with maps and graphics here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=VHBIfmxkHh4 Links here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/04/06/west-vote-rest-un-human-rights-council-sanctions/

Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei ordered his intelligence agency to give full power to the CIA, while the US spy agency's director is welcomed to Buenos Aires. Ben Norton discusses how self-declared "anarcho-capitalist" Milei withdrew from BRICS, allied with Israel, and is implementing neoliberal shock therapy, selling off the South American nation in mass privatizations, as most workers live in poverty. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4VBlUW4BpYs Check out our related video "How extremist Javier Milei became Argentina's president: A story of debt, crisis, and empire": https://youtube.com/watch?v=FN6hoIb-QqA Topics 0:00 Foreign meddling in Argentina 1:08 Javier Milei 1:41 CIA 3:24 Billionaire oligarch 4:03 Anarcho-capitalism 5:05 IMF 7:17 Inflation 8:25 Poverty 9:43 Israel 11:00 Milei's geopolitical alignment: US & Israel 11:33 BRICS 12:13 US corporations 13:32 Beat the status quo... by joining it 14:24 US-backed coup & dictatorship 18:24 Outro

The US government has sent troops to Taiwan, just a few kilometers from mainland China, while also selling billions of dollars of weapons and military equipment. Is Washington preparing for war? Ben Norton analyzes the geopolitical situation. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=sWWABuHjSvU After Ukraine, US readies ‘transnational kill chain’ for Taiwan proxy war: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/03/01/ukraine-us-kill-chain-taiwan-war Topics 0:00 Intro 2:15 US sends troops to Taiwan 4:39 US general threatens war on China 5:28 Nuclear weapons 7:03 US once had nukes in Taiwan 10:22 US "arms Taiwan to the teeth" 13:27 US military surrounds China 16:22 Pentagon's "kill chain for the Pacific" 18:23 Elon Musk's role 19:19 US military interoperability with Taiwan 20:57 Washington threatens Chinese sovereignty 22:58 US communiqués recognizing One China policy 27:46 US violates agreements 29:28 Parallels to Ukraine 31:48 Outro

Israel is carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people and "systematic destruction of every aspect necessary to sustain life in Gaza", United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese detailed in her report titled "Anatomy of a Genocide". Ben Norton analyzes the political context. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=o4e4fI_r3b0

The world economy is structured in an unjust way in which the West drains the wealth of the Global South. Ben Norton discusses the economics of imperialism, and how China has tried to reverse it. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=PlAN5-Lk0hw China is ‘world’s sole manufacturing superpower’, with 35% of global output: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/01/31/china-world-manufacturing-superpower-production Topics 0:00 Global inequality 3:01 World-systems analysis 4:37 Prebisch-Singer thesis 6:55 Dependency theory & commodity supercycles 8:27 Unequal exchange 11:01 Haiti & Honduras: Wage suppression in the periphery 13:57 New International Economic Order 15:22 China & the Asian Tigers 19:27 The Global South rebels 22:41 South Africa's President Ramaphosa on industrialization 25:13 Indonesia's economic development 26:34 (Neo)colonialism in Indonesia 29:29 Indonesia bans raw mineral exports 32:18 Protectionism (for the West, not for the rest) 37:38 China helps Indonesia industrialize 42:04 The myth of Chinese "imperialism" 43:04 India's economy vs. Indonesia's 46:41 China's South-South integration 49:33 Outro

Political economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson are joined by Beijing-based scholar Mick Dunford to discuss China's economy and debunk Western media myths, addressing accusations that consumption is too low, fears of "Japanification", the role of exports, and the new Chinese growth strategy. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=isJR5dS27qA This is part 2 of their discussion. Watch part 1 here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=3K1Vku1SDd8 You can watch other episodes of their program Geopolitical Economy Hour here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

The US government's plan to either ban TikTok or force owner ByteDance to sell it to a (US) company is part of Washington's economic war on China, and an attempt to protect Big Tech monopolies in Silicon Valley. Ben Norton explains. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=1I7reuh86CM Sources and links here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/03/18/us-tiktok-ban-china-tech-monopolies/ Topics 0:00 US Congress moves to ban TikTok 2:04 US tech war on China 6:12 India bans Chinese apps, giving US Big Tech total control 7:51 Protectionism or economic war? 9:18 Silicon Valley lobbied against TikTok 10:49 Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok... before doing 180 13:27 Role of Israel/Palestine/Gaza? 14:54 US trade war with Japan in 1980s 16:51 "Free market" fundamentalist hypocrisy 18:45 The Washington Consensus 20:24 US does not truly want "competition" with China 21:38 Outro

Several reports in mainstream US media outlets show how the CIA has helped to direct the proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, and played a role in causing the conflict in the first place. Ben Norton examines the evidence. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=C-PdT8ZUamQ US govt knew NATO expansion to Ukraine would force Russia to intervene: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/02/27/us-nato-expansion-ukraine-russia-intervene/ Topics 0:00 CIA's role in Ukraine proxy war 2:52 Germany reveals UK/France have troops in Ukraine 4:08 Western special ops commandos are in Ukraine 6:09 CIA trained Ukrainian forces before war with Russia 9:22 US knew NATO expansion would cause Russian intervention 12:26 NY Times reveals CIA operations in Ukraine 21:26 CIA was using US embassy in Ukraine 22:23 2014 US-backed Maidan coup 25:45 CIA spying inside Russia 27:59 NATO/EU member Estonia rewrites WWII history 30:04 Assassinations by CIA-trained Ukrainian forces 34:27 CIA collaborated with UK's MI6 and Netherlands 36:27 Outro

Political economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson are joined by Beijing-based scholar Mick Dunford to discuss what is actually happening in China, explaining its economic transition and move toward a new industrial revolution. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=3K1Vku1SDd8 You can watch other episodes of their program Geopolitical Economy Hour here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

The US government has sent Israel more than 100 arms shipments since October 7, to help it bomb Gaza. Polls show 52% of North Americans oppose these weapons sales. Biden is defying the Democratic Party's base, while allying with Trump and the Republicans. Ben Norton reviews the evidence. VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Yoj8Sleb9XQ US kills 4th UN call for peace in Gaza, helping Israel violate Hague's genocide ruling: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2024/02/21/us-veto-un-resolution-gaza-israel-hague-genocide/ Topics 0:00 Most Americans oppose US arms sales to Israel 2:57 Youth & Democrats say Israel commits genocide 5:10 ICJ: genocide case against Israel is "plausible" 5:30 Top UN expert: Israel commits genocide in Gaza 6:03 US court: Israel "plausibly" committing genocide 7:00 Biden admin sends Israel 100+ arms shipments 9:17 US vetoes ceasefire resolutions in UN Security Council 9:50 Israel's war on Gaza is most destructive in modern history 10:50 Biden's cynical "food aid" PR stunt 11:19 Israel is starving Palestinian children to death 12:01 Amnesty: Israel violates Hague's Gaza ruling 12:46 UN warns Gaza kids are dying of hunger 13:50 China condemns Israel's "disgrace for civilization" 14:23 Malaysia's PM blasts West's "murderous" hypocrisy 16:21 Western colonialism continues 18:57 Outro